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NSA Prepares For Future Techno-Battles By Plotting Network Takedowns
Advocatus Diaboli (1627651) writes According to top secret documents from the archive of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden seen exclusively by SPIEGEL, they are planning for wars of the future in which the Internet will play a critical role, with the aim of being able to use the net to paralyze computer networks and, by doing so, potentially all the infrastructure they control, including power and water supplies, factories, airports or the flow of money. Also check out — New Snowden documents show that the NSA and its allies are laughing at the rest of the world.
As usual has something to say on the New NSA Documents on Offensive Cyberoperations https://www.schneier.com/blog/... with links to additional sources.
Connect everything to the Internet, even crucial things. All hail the Internet of Things! What could possibly go wrong?
"...the NSA and its allies are laughing at the rest of the world."
Seriously, the two probable behaviors of voyeurs are either (1) laughter, or (2) heavy breathing.
I hoped this privacy-invading mass surveillance shit would stop instead it is escalating in a new arms race.
"NSA .. are planning .. to paralyze computer networks and, by doing so, potentially all the infrastructure they control, including power and water supplies, factories, airports or the flow of money."
Did I just slip through a crack in the universe, to a place where the past decades of computer intrusions didn't take place. If so, then that would explain why people are still connecting their critical infrastructure directly to the Internet.
The US is Pinky. The UK is Brain.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
No doubt. This was the legitimate NSA mission before they were corrupted into domestic operations.
More simply explained. People's bosses aren't willing to pay for properly isolating their infrastructure because
a) they don't understand
b) they don't care
and c) they want direct access to their stuff from wherever they are, just like the vendor promised.
Did I just slip through a crack in the universe, to a place where the past decades of computer intrusions didn't take place.
In every past intrusion, the intruders were always held to be 100% to blame.
No manager ever went to jail for gross negligence after a million credit card numbers were stolen, or a control system was attacked.
No major company that was breached ever got sued for all they have by customers whose personal information and privacy were compromised due to the company's gross negligence --- again the intruders were held to have all the blame.
The most serious breaches happen every day by most every business large and small.... you can bet your bottom dollar, that the vast majority of breaches are swept under the rug, and we never learn about them. Unless the breach becomes severe enough or something happens where the company can no longer hide it.... I suspect 90% of small and medium businesses are not disclosing this kind of stuff properly, not even if customers are at risk
When was the last time you got a letter from your grocery store?
Businesses are having workstations on their LAN infected with random malware all the time.
Just about any service provider you do business with has your information and has Windows workstations, and that should make the public scared as hell
But by and large, the public is unaware, even "security experts" are unaware.
Dear leaker community: please stop shitting in your own nest. You have no idea what you're doing, or what kind of world you're trying to create.
They could be like the roman senators who assasinated Julius Caesar, because they feared growing power would result in Caesar being crowned king and crush the republican form of government, but after the dirty deed was done, the senate lost legitimacy and Rome became a dictatorship, so their actions had the opposite of the intended affect.
With all that has been leaked so far.... if the general public has not yet become outraged enough with the NSA to have politicians driving for change, then probably nothing they have left will be able to meet that threshold.
Assholes like you shame reasonable people like me out of expressing patriotism.
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
Don't want your infrastructure paralyzed? Don't connect it to a global public network.
Afraid the NSA has compromised the infrastructure of your nation? Pull the plug to the rest of the world, isolate your network, reload everything including firmware and have that firmware analyzed byte by byte for potential vulnerabilities. Or buy silent typewriters and use them in soundproof roofs that have been swept for bugs.
These guys have compromised the planet all the way down to the equipment manufacturers. They have themselves endangered national security by injecting such vulnerabilities for the black hat community to discover and enjoy. This has become less about national security and more about manipulation/control of the populace/world. They have overstepped their bounds greatly to the point of being dangerous to the liberty of every man, woman and child on the face of this Earth potentially and very little is being done to put a leash on them.
Seriously, what hasn't the NSA illegally pwned yet? They are conducting organized crime basically and our government has told us to shove it. I'd laugh too. Hell, I might even die laughing. I don't think I'd be able to stop.
The agent responsible for what happens in these pages could be a good start to slutshaming these assholes.
http://www.spiegel.de/media/me...
Sometimes, when you overthrow a repressive dictator, the first thing you get is a look at what he was repressing.
Or they have a felony conviction for pot on their record and every job application asks if they have ever been convicted of a felony. The background check companies are allowed to do will reveal those that lied.
Let's face it, the system of denial because of legal issues is huge in the US which also happens to have the largest prison population in the world. Convicted felons, whether they served their time honorably or not, are denied a job, a home, the right to participate in our political system and in general to be considered "rehabilitated". In short, they are stigmatized from the first arrest for the rest of their lives.
This is a sig. This is only a sig. Had this been an actual sig you would have been informed where to tune for more sigs.
The intruders are 100% to blame.
False dichotomy, moron. There can be multiple people at fault for different things. The intruders for an obvious reason, and the company for not using reasonable levels of security.
If someone smashes a window and burglarizes your home is it your fault because you didn't put bars over your windows?
There is such a thing as negligence, and in this context, it occurs when even multi-million (or billion!) dollar companies fail to use even a minimal level of security. You seriously can't tell the difference between a reasonable level of security and absolutely perfect security? Yes, I'm going to put forth the *outrageous* idea that companies should protect data with a reasonable level of security, and that they shouldn't ignore reality and put everyone's data at risk with absolutely laughable security practices. Wow, the poor babies!
And Snowden must enjoy living in Russia because he is digging his own hole everytime he release information on the US counter intelligence services that have nothing to do with the average US citizen.
As a US citizen, I care very much about things like ethics and justice; those are things which the US is supposed to aspire to, but doesn't, and no thanks to ignorant fools like yourself. Someone isn't subhuman just because they're born outside the US, and they deserve protections from indiscriminate surveillance as well. An organization like the NSA which has committed so many wrongs does not deserve any sympathy from anyone.
and obscuring the fact that the US is by no means the only country on the planet with espionage and counterintelligence operations across the globe.
"Everybody else is doing it, so it must be okay!" If we're such an excellent country, then maybe we should set an example for other countries by not doing evil things. Seriously, you people spew forth this nonsensical justification almost every time it comes out, and it gets tiring pointing out the fallacy.
If someone smashes a window and burglarizes your home is it your fault because you didn't put bars over your windows?
Your remark is a false analogy. You are missing an important concept called duty of care in regards to companies that require you to provide them sensitive information in order to purchase a service from them. Try this one: you go to the jewelry store, and secure into their care a $100,000 jeweled necklace for repairs. Overnight, a burglar smashes a window in the store and swipes your necklace. The store just calls you up and informs you it has been stolen, so you won't be able to pick it up, and we're sorry we can't help you replace it, BUT we will offer you a 25% discount coupon good for 2 years. There were no bars on the windows, and a worker just left your piece on a work desk or file cabinet. Only the products actually owned by the shop are locked up in a special vault after closing.
An essential fact to keep in mind, is that you as consumer have no control of the shop's level of security.
Now imagine if instead of a $100,000 necklace, it was a piece of intellectual property or personal details, where theft could be occurring without clear physical evidence.
I will agree if a burglar smashes the window of your house and burglarizes your home, the burglar is fully responsible, but only if caught.
In fact, you as homeowner will bear the cost in reality. The cost in lost items, OR the cost in increased insurance premiums that will ultimately exceed any amounts claimed.
Although you as homeowner had a choice to beef up your security, you could have chosen not to.
However you are not free of liability in this situation.. Your liability is your loss in this case.
As much as the Iraq war has cost, we could have dropped the cash all over the country and solved the whole problem with nobody hating us.